A failed rubber seal on a device is what caused some 80 gallons of oil to spill from a well Saturday at the Aliso Canyon field near Porter Ranch, state regulators said this week.

Oil production was halted at the well operated by Denver-based Crimson Resource Management and removal of all contaminated soils and plant material was completed the same day, according to a spokesman with the California Department of Conservation. While Crimson has made the needed repairs, the operator had yet to return the well to production as of Wednesday, officials said.

The Department’s Division of Oil, Gas & Geothermal Resources “does not believe there was any gross negligence involved requiring any penalties,” said Don Drysdale, a spokesman for the California Department of Conservation, in an email interview. “The spill violation will be noted and could be used for any future penalties involving repeated offenses.”

The leak was the second at the Aliso Canyon field since Oct. 23 — when a natural gas storage well operated by Southern California Gas Co. began spewing more than 100,000 metric tons of methane in the worst natural gas leak in U.S. history. That massive leak, which lasted more than three months, sickened many and displaced thousands of area families, was apparently caused by damage to the well casing several hundred feet underground.

Crimson has 12 oil production wells in the Aliso Canyon field, of which four are active, according to state regulators.

The culprit of Saturday’s much smaller oil and gas leak was determined to be a failed rubber seal in the stuffing box, a device that seals the wellhead from the rod that pumps oil to prevent leakage, Drysdale said.

After the seal failed for “uncertain” reasons, an estimated two barrels — or 84 gallons — of oil mixed with water and gas spilled or sprayed an area around the wellhead, he said.

A report to the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services estimated that the amount of liquid that spilled outside of the containment area is less than 50 gallons.

Operators have no way to measure exactly how much gas was mixed with the oil, but “it was a relatively small amount — nothing that would have endangered the public,” Drysdale said.

Oil was produced from the entire Aliso Canyon field for decades. When the oil was depleted from the deep reservoirs, they were converted to gas storage.

The deepest geologic formations in the field are used by SoCalGas for its natural gas storage facility, while shallower geologic formations, which are separated from the gas storage reservoirs by cap rock, are used by Crimson and The Termo Co. for oil production, said Jason Marshall, chief deputy director of the California Department of Conservation.

Any time there is an oil spill, it’s cause for some concern, Marshall said. But he added that “two barrels is not a large amount of oil to have spilled.”

While state regulators aim to minimize such incidents, when it does happen “our goal is to stop the leak and make sure the operator cleans it up,” Marshall said.

Crimson, one of three companies that operate wells at the Aliso Canyon field, was able to stop the leak within a few hours after notice was given, he said.

Division personnel confirmed that the cleanup had taken place and the problem was repaired, including replacing the stuffing box. There is no requirement for additional testing, and the well can be placed back into production, officials said.

In March, state regulators fined the Long Beach-based Termo Co., which has eight active oil production wells there, $75,000 — largely for illegally discharging natural gas and apparently trying to hide it. Termo has appealed that decision but a hearing date has yet to be set, Drysdale said.

Regarding the massive leak at the SoCalGas storage well, DOGGR’s root-cause analysis is ongoing and will likely continue until the summer, he added.

Meanwhile, proposed legislation by state Sen. Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, that aims to help the state transition from natural gas to alternative fuels passed the state Environmental Quality Committee on Wednesday.

Senate Bill 1301 would provide about $40 million a year in gas utility revenues to help identify and develop alternatives to natural gas, such as biogas, which is generated when organic material decays, according to the senator’s office.

Brenda Gazzar is a multilingual multimedia reporter who has worked for a variety of news outlets in California and in the Middle East since 2000. She has covered a range of issues, including breaking news, immigration, law and order, race, religion and gender issues, politics, human interest stories and education. Besides the Los Angeles Daily News and its sister papers, her work has been published by Reuters, the Denver Post, Ms. Magazine, the Jerusalem Post, USA Today, the Christian Science Monitor, the Los Angeles Jewish Journal, The Cairo Times and others. Brenda speaks Spanish, Hebrew and intermediate Arabic and is the recipient of national, state and regional awards, including a National Headliners Award and one from the Associated Press News Executives' Council. She holds a dual master's degree in Communications/Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Texas at Austin.

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